State politics roundup: Common Core, voucher school bills in jeopardy

Mar. 13, 2014

Scott Fitzgerald / AP, file

Written by

The Associated Press

MADISON — Proposals to rewrite Common Core academic standards, require increased reporting of private schools in the voucher program and limit regulations on sand mining in Wisconsin appear unlikely to pass as the Legislature reaches the end of its session.

Lawmakers are trying to reach agreement on a number of high-profile issues as the Assembly plans to wrap up its work for the year next week. The Senate also expects to meet only two more days, finishing on April 1.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says anything that hasnít already passed the Senate faces an uphill battle. That would include the bill giving the Legislature the power to rewrite academic standards and the proposal to prohibit local governments from creating new sand mine regulations.

New school report card bill proposed in Assembly

Failing public schools could be closed and subpar private schools would no longer be able to accept taxpayer-funded voucher students under the latest version of an accountability bill introduced in the Assembly.

Bill sponsor Rep. Jim Steineke said Thursday that heís hopeful the Senate will pass the bill before it adjourns for the year. The Assembly plans to vote on it next week on its final session day of the year.

The Senate has already passed a school accountability bill that does not include sanctions. At the time, Senate leaders said that was the only version of the proposal that had enough votes to pass.

Both Republicans and Democrats say they want greater accountability for all schools, but they havenít been able to agree on what that should look like.

Committee passes bill banning sharing of data

Wisconsin public schools would be forbidden from sharing any biometric data collected from students that could identify them, like fingerprints and retina scans, under a bill that has cleared a state Assembly Committee.

The Education Committee voted 7-3 on Thursday to pass the bill, making it available for the Assembly to take up on its last day in session next week. The billís prospects are unclear in the Senate, where lawmakers have shown little to no interest in the issue.

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The Republican-backed bill would allow schools to collect the personally identifiable information about students, if parents agreed. However, schools would be barred from sharing the information with state or federal officials.

Democrats who voted against it say they are concerned about unintended consequences.

Wisconsin committee OKs GPS tracking ban

A legislative committee has approved a Republican bill that would outlaw secretly placing GPS devices on peopleís vehicles.

Under the bill, anyone who secretly places a GPS device on another personís vehicle or obtains information about a personís movement using a GPS device would be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and nine months in jail.

The Assemblyís criminal justice committee held a public hearing on the bill Thursday. The billís author, Rep. Adam Neylon, was the only person who spoke. He said secret GPS tracking amounts to an invasion of privacy.

The committee approved the measure unanimously after the hearing. The vote clears the way for a full vote in the Assembly. Time is running out, though. The legislative session wraps up next month.

Bill would allow use of e-cigarettes indoors

Wisconsin lawmakers are considering a bill that would let smokers use electronic cigarettes indoors.

The bill is up for a committee vote Thursday and would need to pass both chambers before becoming law. Lawmakers are scheduled to work only two more days before the end of the session.

Sen. Glenn Grothman introduced the bill last week. The West Bend Republican says heís never smoked regular cigarettes but heís tried an e-cigarette and couldnít smell the vapor.

Doctors have opposed allowing the devices indoors before researchers can study potential hazards of e-cigarette vapor.

The devices use a heating coil to turn a flavored and nicotine-laced liquid into a vapor that users inhale. Supporters of the bill tout e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking.